FURNITURE

After the furniture industry-supported North American Free Trade Agreement was approved in the U.S. Congress in November 1993, home-furnishing businesses anticipated some $1 billion in increased sales by 1995.

The march toward internationalism and expanding markets combined with optimistic projections that the year would end with substantially increased domestic business was promising to make 1993 the year the industry turned around. Revenues were projected to reach $17,822,000,000 by 1994. This figure was a 9.9% increase over 1992, which closed higher than projected at $16,356,000,000 and marked the third year in a row that sales had moved upward.

The styles that were introduced in the United States were emphatically homegrown. The emergence of casual, country, western, and lodge styles heralded a slogan to "Buy American!" Multicoloured denim sofas were hyped by Bernhardt Industries Inc., while Lexington promoted De Cristofaro, a garden-variety style that emphasized farm life and such fun American leisure symbols as kites. Century Furniture Co. introduced Jim Peed’s "Country Cousins," which featured elements of cottage, mission, low country, and Victorian styles. Hickory Furniture Co. unveiled reproductions based on the furnishings in Mount Vernon, George Washington’s Virginia home. More sophisticated and/or international designs such as Classic-Contemporary and British Empire remained visible but were overshadowed.

The lists of the top manufacturers and retailers prepared by Furniture/Today remained basically the same as in 1992, with the top three furniture manufacturers occupying the same positions. First was Masco Home Furnishings with $1,534,000,000 in sales, followed by Broyhill/Lane with $910 million and La-Z-Boy with $661 million. One major change was the drop of Thomasville Furniture Industries, Inc., from fifth to seventh place. Klaussner had the largest growth spurt at 32.3%. The top three retailers were still Levitz ($901.3 million), Ethan Allen Home Interiors ($597.5 million), and Swedish-based IKEA ($475.6 million).

Manufacturers La-Z-Boy and Ethan Allen emerged as trendsetters by also retailing their own products, a concept known as vertical marketing. Manufacturers’ galleries, including single-product specialty stores, multiproduct stores, and single-product and multiproduct independently operated establishments, continued to expand and were projected to occupy 2,787,000,000 sq m (30 million sq ft) of space by 1997, a 50% increase.

A consumer study developed by the Wirthin Group for the American Furniture Manufacturers Association and the Home Furnishings Council indicated that attention to quality and consumer needs would improve sales.

Though the rising cost of wood affected both pricing and the way in which furniture was constructed, large-scale beds of the "Paul Bunyan" type made a discreet return. Discounters continued to plague traditional retailers, and some closed-to-the-public design centres even rethought their marketing strategies. Such new avenues for furniture distribution as catalogs and warehouse stores continued to proliferate. An all-industry voluntary fire-safety program known as UFAC (Upholstered Furniture Action Council) inspired Europeans to create EUFAC. Abby Chapple

FURS

Demand for furs continued to show improvement in 1993 following an initial surge in 1992 and after a two-year decline. The slow but gradual economic recovery in the U.S. coaxed middle- and upper-income consumers to relax the tight grip on their purse strings, and colder fall and winter weather prompted many to embrace furs. Retail sales in the U.S. were expected to end the year about 15% higher than 1992’s $1.1 billion estimated total. Canada’s fur industry, which hit rock bottom in 1992, experienced a magnificent rebound. Total exports rose 38% and U.S. exports jumped 75%.

Pelt prices staged a dramatic recovery during the year, largely as a result of sharp cutbacks in production. An oversupply of pelts, which had developed since 1987, brought about the collapse of the industry’s price structure and resulted in a huge five-year loss. The strongest comeback was made in mink prices, which advanced as much as 50% for some types during the year. Though mink ranchers received a 13.2% increase in pelt prices, the amount was not enough to cover their production costs. As a result, the number of mink farms in operation shrank another 16%.

Besides stronger sales in the U.S., Germany, and other established markets, broader worldwide pelt demand surfaced in South Korea, China, and Russia.

Meanwhile, the U.S. industry--which had already undergone severe attrition--shrank further. A late-year report issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission listed only 200 fur-manufacturing establishments, compared with 236 the previous year and 341 in 1989. The survey also counted some 1,000 factory workers, about half the number that were employed in 1989.

At the same time, imports of fur apparel into the U.S. began rising again after plunging from a 1987 peak of $477 million. Commerce Department figures showed that imports were running more than 50% ahead of 1992; the year’s total was expected to reach some $200 million, compared with $122 million in 1992.

Antifur activities by animal activists were muted for most of the year. The reduced impact of the antifur movement was attributed to the strident measures, including the use of violence, by some of the militants. While media coverage of the antifur activists decreased, legal actions against them rose. Vandals were jailed, and grand jury investigations were under way against several of the movement’s leaders. The European Community banned imports of furs from any country that used leghold traps to capture animals; 70% of the beaver pelts from New York had been exported to Europe. Sandy Parker

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